US sanctions Chinese men linked to notorious North Korean hackers
- Wu Huihui and Cheng Hung-man allegedly laundered virtual currencies for members of the Lazarus Group, known for the Sony Pictures hack in 2014
- The group released sensitive internal documents as revenge for The Interview, a satirical film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un
The US slapped sanctions Monday on two Chinese men it said laundered money for North Korea’s notorious Lazarus Group, a hacking and cybercrime operation.
The US Treasury alleged that Wu Huihui and Cheng Hung-man worked from China and Hong Kong to launder virtual currencies stolen by Lazarus operatives through the international financial system, including through the US banking sector, for use by the North Korean government.
The Lazarus Group has been operating for more than a decade.
It gained notoriety in 2014 when it allegedly hacked Sony Pictures Entertainment, releasing sensitive internal documents as revenge for The Interview, a satirical film that mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Since then, it has allegedly engineered or taken part in numerous online thefts, raking in hundreds of millions of dollars every year.